Mystery In Odaiba
by Hikari Hoshino
Summary: One of the Digi-Destined has gone insane... Who is it? Now the others must live in fear as they drop, one by one...
1. Shattered Dreams

Mystery in Odaiba ****

Mystery in Odaiba

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or any of the characters… It'd be cool if I did… And maybe I'd change the ending some! ^_~

A/N- Okies, let's see… This is my first Digi-fic (not to mention first murder fic), so go easy on me, all right? I believe this is the result of watching Murder in Small Town X just awhile ago. This probably isn't the first Digi-murder fic up, but I just had to write this. I'm not trying to steal anyone's ideas! 

Based after the final battle of 02… Everything after that is totally different… (no one gets married, if ya didn't know) ^_^

Ah, let me tell you how I did this… I put all of the Digi-Destined kids' names in a hat, and I drew each of their names one by one. And that's the order they get killed, except for one survivor who will confront the killer. 

What else? Oh yeah… Taichi, Yamato, and Sora are all 17… Jyou is 18… Mimi and Koushirou are 16… Daisuke, Miyako, Hikari, Takeru, and Ken are 14 (dunno if they're all the same age; please correct me on this)… and Iori is… 11? Ah, whatever, I'll just get to the story…

-------

Taichi looked around the park. He was the first one there. He took a look around and took his spot under the shade of the big tree. It was a hot and sunny day in Odaiba. Life was pretty good after that final battle three years ago… 

__

I wonder how Agumon's doing right now… Taichi thought to himself. He sighed. _When Koushirou gets here, maybe he can help me with my calculus homework…_

There was only three weeks left until summer vacation. Everyone was going off to different places for vacation, so Sora wanted them all to meet before then. On top of that, next week they would all be cramming for finals. 

__

Sora… Taichi couldn't help sighing as he thought of her name. He had to face facts; he was still in love with her. But her heart only had room for Yamato… _There was no room for me… She only sees me as her best friend, but what she can't see is how much more I care for her…_

"Taichi? Are you in there?" 

Taichi was startled. "Huh? What?" He saw Miyako's concerned face.

"Hmmm… Welcome back from la-la land, Taichi," Miyako said with a grin. 

"Hi, Miyako," Taichi greeted her. He tried to get Sora out of his mind as the others showed up. 

-------

"I'm not worried about finals," Koushirou told everyone. "You just need to have a logical approach on things."

"Maybe you'd like to tutor me, then," Yamato replied sarcastically. "I'm pretty sure I'm gonna fail history… And if I fail--"

"Dad says he'll have to quit the band," Takeru finished for him.

"Oh, that's terrible, Yama-chan," Sora said sympathetically, putting an arm around him. "Say, I made pretty good grades in history. Why don't I tutor you? Then you'll be all ready for the finals!"

Yamato gave her one of his great smiles. "Thanks, Sora."

"Are you all starting the party without me?" a new voice spoke, causing everyone to stop.

"Mimi?!" Jyou cried with disbelief.

"Don't look so shocked," Mimi giggled. "School ended early in America, so I decided to surprise you guys! Sora's mother said you all were here."

Sora got up and hugged Mimi. "It's been a LONG time, Mimi. I've missed you!"

"Yes, too long," Mimi agreed, sitting down. "So, you all must be cramming for finals."

"Yeah," Jyou said. "It's even tougher in college. I've got to end my term on the right foot!"

"You'll do fine, Jyou. Stop worrying," Iori told him.

"Easy for you," Jyou shot back. "You're just in the sixth grade, aren't you? I remember finals were so much easier then!"

"Ah… The sixth grade…" Daisuke sighed at the memory. "When I first became a Digi-Destined…"

"Man, summer in three weeks!" Taichi leaned back. "I don't think I can live that long!"

"I don't think I can either," Hikari agreed with him.

"I don't think any of us can!" Ken chimed in. They all started laughing.

-------

"Well, Yama-chan and I have a date," Sora told the others. "So we'd better get going." She linked her arm around the blushing Yamato.

"Yeah, see you guys later." And they were off. Taichi watched them wistfully. The others started to drift off, one by one… Soon, Taichi, Hikari, and Mimi were the only ones left.

"Guess we're not going to see them for awhile, huh?" Hikari said, almost wistfully. She brightened. "Well, at least I have algebra with Miyako!" She turned to Taichi. "Well, let's go home."

"Why don't I walk with you guys? You guys live pretty far away," Mimi spoke up. "I'll head to Sora's house straight after."

"Thanks, Mimi," Taichi told her. He smiled. _Mimi and her sweet self. Always caring about other people._

"Come on, let's go," Hikari said impatiently. "Mom and Dad will be worried about us." The sun was setting, and Hikari never liked the dark much. It must have been her fear of the dark ocean three years ago. Whenever she was outside at night, she always seemed to get a little shiver. Taichi knew this and put an arm around his sister. The three of them headed for the Yagami residence.

-------

"So, tell me, Taichi," Mimi spoke up, grinning. "You still have a thing for Sora, don't you?"

Taichi blushed. He turned to Mimi quickly. "What?! What makes you say that?!"

"I saw you looking at her today," Mimi smirked. "You were looking at her in the way half the guys at my school look at me."

Taichi sighed. "Nice to know that you're SO modest, Mimi." He turned away. "But… But you're wrong about Sora…"

"Denial isn't very good for the heart," Mimi told him. "But I suppose you're right." She shrugged carelessly. "Sora is with Yamato now, so I guess that's too bad." 

"Stop messing with my brother," Hikari told Mimi in a withering tone of voice. She started to walk a little faster. "Let's get home. Mom said the crime rate is up 10%." She looked around worriedly. "And we're all alone out here… I hope Sora and Yamato are all right on their date… I hope all the others got home safely…"

Taichi felt a slight pang as Hikari mentioned Sora. _Maybe if I was able to protect Sora as well as Yamato could, then maybe…_

"See?" Mimi's sing-song voice broke into his thoughts. "You're thinking about her again, Taichi." She put a hand on his shoulder. "Look, Taichi… Just between you and me, you're a much better person than Yamato… If Sora can't see that, then she has a problem… No matter what… I'll always be here for you…"

"Thanks, Mimi," Taichi said. But he knew she was wrong. Sora deserved a great, popular guy like his best friend Yamato. _What could I possibly do for her?_ _I'm just a soccer jock… Sora doesn't even like soccer anymore! She plays tennis now… Even so, every day she's becoming more and more interested in dresses and stuff… She wouldn't want a jock like me anymore… _Taichi thought back to when they were eleven. They had so much in common back then…

"Taichi?" Mimi asked. Taichi was still in thought and didn't hear her. _Sora must mean a lot to him…_

"Why don't you get to Sora's house, Mimi?" Hikari suggested. "We're almost home, and I don't want you to walk very far alone…"

"Well, all right, Hikari, if you're sure you'll be okay," Mimi said doubtfully. She looked at Taichi again. "Um… Good night, you two…"

"Night," Taichi said blankly, almost as if he really wasn't paying attention to what was going on. Mimi was very worried about him… _But Hikari will take care of him right? I guess I'll go home…_ With another wave, Mimi headed off in a different direction. Hikari tugged on Taichi's arm.

"Come on, brother, let's get home."

-------

Sora stared out the window of the Happy Burger restaurant. It had just begun to rain and thunder. _It's so dark outside… I hope everyone got home safely... _She remembered how her mother had almost not wanted Sora to go on this date. Odaiba is a very dangerous place nowadays. She thought of how lonely her summer would be. Her mother wanted to leave as soon as her last exam was done… They were to visit her grandmother all summer. Perhaps her mother was fed up with all the crime? Soon, Sora's tears were streaming down her cheeks like the raindrops on the window.

Yamato, who had been rambling on about his band, noticed Sora was crying. "Sora, what's wrong?!"

"I'm just thinking that this is going to be the first summer that the Digi-Destined aren't going to be together…" Sora sniffled. "I guess I'm just feeling sad."

Yamato wiped away her tears. "Yeah, I was thinking that too… So you're not the only one who's sad…"

"I wish you could come with me to my grandmother's house, Yama-chan," Sora sighed. "Maybe then I wouldn't be so bored… What am I going to do without you? What am I going to do without Taichi's jokes?"

"Taichi, huh…" Yamato said thoughtfully. Sora looked at him oddly. He hadn't sounded angry, just… strange. But the moment passed. Yamato gave Sora a big smile. "Hey, I have a joke that'll cheer you up…"

-------

Daisuke, Miyako, Iori, and Ken were walking home together. Miyako stole a glance at Ken. _He's so cute… I wonder what I can do to get him to notice me?_

"Hey, Ken," Daisuke spoke up. "Wanna stay at my house tonight?"

Ken shook his head. "No, that's quite all right."

"You probably shouldn't go all the way back to your town, Ken," Daisuke insisted. "It could be dangerous!"

"I'll be fine, Daisuke," Ken spoke quietly. "I've got things to do at home." With that, he walked off.

"Ken…!" Miyako called after him. "What's up with him anyway?" Daisuke shrugged.

-------

Meanwhile, Takeru was already at home. His mother was asleep, so he decided to watch T.V. He turned it on to some slasher movie.

"Ah, nothing else to watch, so I might as well watch this," Takeru shrugged. _So bored… I bet Yamato's having fun on his date… I wish I had the guts to ask Hikari out…_ The girl on T.V. screamed. The door slammed shut behind her. "She'd better run…" Takeru looked at the T.V. with a dull expression on his face. Horror movies didn't interest him much.

Slam.

"Mom, is that you?" Takeru called out indifferently. 

Silence.

Takeru shrugged and glanced at the T.V. The scene was also filled with silence. The girl was ALSO watching T.V. Takeru paused and looked back.

"Nah…"

-------

"Mom, we're home!" Taichi called out. 

The thunder crashed violently. 

"Hi, Taichi, hi, Hikari!" their mother called out. "I was worried about you! Come into the kitchen, I baked you two some cookies!"

Taichi smiled. His loving mother… He looked at his smiling sister. _I think Hikari gets most of her sweetness from Mom…_

"Great, I'm starved," Hikari grinned.

-------

Later…

"Taichi, if you keep eating so many cookies, you'll get fat," Hikari complained.

"What can I say?" Taichi said with a grin. "Mom's cookies are the best!"

"Okay, fine, you can have the last cookie," Hikari relented. "I'm going to go take a bath."

"Are you sure, Hikari?" Taichi asked.

"Yeah, of course," Hikari smiled sweetly, then headed to the bathroom.

Taichi was alone in the kitchen. He closed his eyes. _I wonder how Sora and… Yamato… are doing, _he thought with a grim expression on his face. _Mimi was right… Sora and I SHOULD be together… But Yamato had to go and take her away…_ He kicked at nothing in particular. _Stupid Yamato…_ With that, Taichi got up and left the house into the pitch black, rainy night. He had things that he needed to think about.

-------

Hikari, humming a song, walked into the bathroom, towel in hand. The thunder crashed again. Hikari jumped, startled. _I want the thundering to end,_ she thought with a whimper._ I don't like the darkness… _She had to smile, thinking of her Crest of Light. _Probably that's why…_ She turned on the faucet of the bathtub. The water was so cold that she shivered. Hikari felt like soaking in the bathtub and relaxing. _If only the thundering would end… Then I could just listen to the soothing rain in peace…_

All of a sudden the phone rang. 

Hikari was confused. _Now who could that be…? Probably Mimi, just checking up to see if we're okay. Or… _Her heart skipped a beat. _Maybe it's Takeru…_ Hikari had a bit of a crush on Takeru, although she couldn't find the guts to tell him. The phone rang again, reminding her that she should probably pick it up. She ran out into the hallway and picked up the ringing phone.

"Hello?" Hikari greeted, rather breathlessly.

"Taichi?" came the muffled voice.

"No, this is Hikari," Hikari told the caller. "Want me to get him for you?" She turned and called, "TAICHI!" There was no response. _Huh, I guess he fell asleep after eating all those cookies._ Hikari grinned. "Well, I'm sorry, but--"

__

Click.

"Um, okay." Hikari hang up the phone. _Guess someone really wanted to talk to Taichi._

The thunder crashed the loudest for the night. Hikari jumped again. Then she shook her head, exasperated. _It's JUST thunder, Hikari…_ _It's not like you're back in the dark ocean…_Irritated, she headed back to the bathroom. She stopped at the window. _I feel sorry for whomever's outside at the moment… _At that moment, the lights went out.

"Oh no!" Hikari shouted in the darkness. "Mom? Dad? Does anyone have a flashlight?"

As if in response, something crashed through the glass window, shattering it to bits.

-------

Taichi ran, faster and faster, until he was back at that old tree where they had met that afternoon. The special tree where he and Sora used to play as children… He sat down against it, the branches and leaves providing little shelter from the rain. They had both grown up together… Next year, when they were going to go off to college… Yamato often spoke of taking Sora away… Asking her to marry him. He had only told Taichi, Jyou, and Mimi that. Mimi thought it was the most romantic thing, but Jyou thought it would be a better idea to wait until college was over. Taichi had said nothing, but he didn't know how he was feeling until this very moment.

__

I wish Sora would be with me forever instead of Yamato… I've gotta make sure that she doesn't marry him… 

Taichi thought he heard someone walking by. He froze. After a moment, he figured it was just his imagination. Who would be out here in the middle of the night?

"Sora… I love you…" he whispered to himself. "And I'll tell you how I feel." He felt a chill run down his spine.

"I don't think so," came the muffled whisper. A pair of gloved hands grasped his throat.

-------

Sora sat, waiting in Yamato's car for Yamato to actually return. Yamato had left suddenly, saying he needed to use the pay phone. Sora sighed. _Come on back, Yama-chan… I don't know what kind of psychos are around here at night…_

-------

Taichi struggled against the dark figure. He or she was wearing a mask and was choking Taichi to death.

"Hey… Leave me alone…" Taichi gasped for air. "Stop…"

The character responded by strangling him even more… even harder… 

__

Was it all going to end like this, Taichi thought pathetically. _Just when I finally realized how I felt for Sora… How I really couldn't live without her… _Suddenly, the strangling stopped. Taichi looked at the dark figure. He could only slightly see the cold-looking eyes through the eye holes of the mask. _So merciless… Yet so… familiar…_ Taichi decided he didn't care and decided to run for it. _So much for the Crest of Courage, _he thought bitterly. The person ran after him. Taichi was surprised at how fast a runner this person was. Taichi was quickly caught up to. His legs were grabbed, and he fell to the ground. The killer sat on his legs, and Taichi could swear that there was a sadistic smirk behind that mask.

Suddenly, the mask was removed. Taichi looked up at the person who had tried to strangle him to death. "But… You're…" he sputtered. _Why would one of his fellow Digi-Destined do this to him? _"Have you gone insane?!" he cried out.

Wordlessly, the insane Digi-Destined brought out a big butcher knife. And with one swift motion…

-------

__

The rain is pouring down harder… Sora looked out the car window. _Where are you, Yama-chan? _She looked at the steering wheel and considered driving back herself. _What are you thinking, Sora? Don't just leave him! _Then that's when Sora noticed something under the driver's seat.

Yamato's cell phone.

Sora picked it up, suspiciously. _Why would Yamato need to use a pay phone when his cell phone was right here…?_

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Sora."

Sora looked up. Yamato opened the car door and started the engine. He tossed his gloves into the backseat. He noticed Sora holding his cell phone.

"Oh, you found it, huh?" Yamato told her. "I need to get the batteries recharged on that stupid thing."

"Who did you call, Yama-chan?" Sora asked. 

"Oh, I tried to call Takeru," Yamato replied lightly. "Just wanted to make sure he got home safely. But no one was answering… They must be asleep."

They drove on in silence. They were near the park when Sora tried to initiate some conversation. She looked out the window. "Yama-chan, I…" She stopped, noticing something.

"What's up, Sora?" Yamato asked her, concerned.

"Look at that." Sora pointed to an unconscious figure on the wet grass at the park.

Yamato looked in disbelief. "What weirdo would go to sleep there?"

"But see…" Sora said, frightened. "I don't think he's sleeping… Please pull over, Yama-chan… Maybe we can help him."

Yamato sighed. "If that's what you want."

Yamato parked his car, and he and Sora went to check out the body.

"Taichi…?" Sora whispered in disbelief.

"Whoa," Yamato said. He slapped Taichi's face around. "Hey, buddy, wake up." That's when he felt the blood. "Gross!"

"Taichi, what happened?" Sora asked, near tears. "Are you dead…?"

Yamato put an arm around Sora. "I can't believe it… Who would want to kill Taichi?" His voice was rather emotionless, though.

Taichi opened his eyes slowly. "Taichi, you're alive!" Sora cried happily.

"Ah… Sora…" Taichi whispered slowly. "Glad you're here… I've… always loved you…" He stole a glance at Yamato, whose expression was pretty hard to read. "Hey, Yamato, buddy… Take care of her, will ya?" With that, his eyes closed.

"Taichi?" Sora called out. "TAICHI!" She shook him. "Taichi… NO!" She turned to Yamato helplessly. His blank expression still hasn't changed. "Shouldn't we get help, Yamato?" She paused. "Yamato…?"

Yamato remained silent. And he looked down on Taichi's corpse.

-------

A/N- Yeah, that was probably kinda weird. Sorry if the story seemed to start off a little slowly. I'll try to pick up the pace in later chapters. So… Taichi was the poor, unlucky first victim… Anyway, keep checking back on my first "crappy" horror fic. I'm not that good a writer, but I'm slowly learning! Later all…


	2. Silenced Feelings

****

Mystery In Odaiba: Chapter 2

A/N: Can't sleep… Must sleep… Ah well, I guess I'll write more of this fic. *draws another name from her unlucky hat* 

Ooh… So sad… Really sorry… *sniff sniff* -_-

-------

It had been pitch-black… for how long? _Thirty minutes to be exact. Ouch, my head…_

Takeru was lying on the floor. He had actually been getting into that horror movie, until the blackout. He remembered getting up to go get a flashlight, but he slipped and fell back. _Good thing it was carpet… _He shook his head. _What kind of fool slips on carpet? I'll have to keep this a secret from Hikari…_

He had heard the phone ringing, but he was not able to get up. _That could have been Hikari too…_ Takeru sighed and slowly got up.

"Mom!" he called out. "Mom, where are you?"

"In here," she called back from the other room. She ran into the living room, a flashlight in her hand. "Oh, Takeru, are you all right?" 

"I kind of hit my head…" Takeru replied sheepishly. 

His mother patted his head affectionately. "Well, let's just sit here and wait--"

The lights came back on at that moment. The TV came back on as well. Takeru watched a girl scream and fall onto the floor.

"Poor girl," Takeru spoke.

-------

"Hikari! HIKARI!!" 

Hikari stood, frightened, as the lights flickered back on. Her mother ran to her and hugged her. Then she looked in shock at the window. "Hikari… What happened?!"

"I… I don't know," Hikari whispered, dangerously close to crying. _Be strong Hikari… You've been through scarier stuff than this in the Digital World, remember? … But then, why do I feel so cold inside…? This feeling in my heart… It's worse than ever…_ She looked down and noticed a rock… It wasn't a big rock, but it was certainly thrown hard enough to break a window… She glanced at the shattered window… 

Her mother hugged her again. Hikari hugged back, grateful to be alive.

-------

Meanwhile, Sora and Yamato had taken Taichi to a hospital.

"Can you save him, doctor?" Sora pleaded.

The doctor looked at Sora sadly. "Ma'am… I'm… I'm afraid it would take a miracle to bring him back… He's hanging on by a thread."

"But with a thread, there's still hope," Yamato firmly declared. "Do everything you can!"

With an uncertain nod, the doctor left the couple. Sora clung on to Yamato's arm.

"Why… Why did this have to happen, Yamato…?" 

"I don't know, Sora…" Yamato sighed. "But someone is going to pay for it…"

"H-He loved me…" Sora spoke softly, her voice trembling. However, this caused Yamato to look at her rather bitterly.

"Of course he did… Wasn't it obvious?" he asked her, his voice growing more and more emotionless. Sora glanced at him in shock. His eyes softened at her hurt glance. "I mean… Who wouldn't love you, Sora? You're the sweetest girl I've ever met."

Sora smiled at him. 

"I think that I'd better call the others…" Yamato looked worried. "They're going to want to know what's going on…"

Sora nodded as Yamato left in search of a pay phone. She looked down… _Hikari can't know… It'll absolutely kill her…_

-------

Miyako was lying on her bed, enjoying the rain. She secretly loved the sound of raindrops… When the phone rang, she picked it up, but she barely recognized the voice. She listened for a moment and spoke, "… Yamato? Something's wrong, isn't it?" She paused and looked out the window… She listened to the roar of the thunder. "Someone's hurt… right? Something happened while someone was going home… That's what happened, isn't it?" She could see the park from her room, and her eyes grazed over there.

"Good guess," the blonde replied. "Come to the hospital right away." 

-------

"If the rain keeps up, the soccer game is going to be canceled," Daisuke complained as he walked through the door, just now getting home. 

"You should be studying for finals anyway," his mother sighed. "Not practicing soccer…"

The phone rang then and Jun went to go answer it.

"I have to practice if I want to be as good as Taichi, Mom!" Daisuke declared. "And if I practice even more, I may even become like Ken!"

Jun poked her head in the room. "Speaking of Taichi, he's in the hospital! Yamato says to go there right away!"

Daisuke was in mid-ramble. "… And when I get my first medal………. What? *blink* Taichi is in the hospital?"

-------

Chop. Chop. Chop.

He raised the knife and continued to chop.

"Honey, don't you think you've cut those onions enough?" his mother asked, coming into the room with a worried expression on her face.

Ken grinned. "Sorry, Mom… I'm just trying to be a better cook."

His mother glanced about. "Say, why don't you take a break… You should go to the hospital and see your friend Taichi… He was attacked a few hours ago."

Ken dropped the knife.

-------

Hikari sat alone in her room, drying her hair. The phone rang at that moment. Hikari wandered over to the hallway and picked up the phone.

"Hello?" she asked cautiously.

"Hello, Hikari." There came that muffled voice again.

"Taichi is not home yet, I'm sorry," Hikari apologized. _Someone must be really impatient to speak to Taichi._

"Well, I'm here to speak to you," the voice told her. "After all, Taichi is not coming home."

Hikari's heart began to pound. "… What…?"

"Why don't you go to the hospital? He's in there… holding on to his dear life… And that's when I'll strike." 

__

Click.

Hikari clutched the phone. "No…" She sank down on her knees. _I've got to help my brother!_

-------

"Sora…"

Sora looked up to see Mimi's tear-stained face. "Mimi, I'm so glad you're here," Sora told her.

"Yamato told me what happened," Mimi sniffled slightly. "I… I can't believe… Why would someone…"

"It's pretty hard to believe… Taichi was such a nice guy…" It was Koushirou. Jyou was with him. "I wonder who would have a grudge against him."

"I'm just going to pray that the doctors can save him," Sora said, rather hopelessly.

-------

The others arrived one by one, nearly 45 minutes later.

"Hey…" Yamato greeted them. "Has anyone heard from Hikari? No one is answering at their house."

"I haven't heard from her," Takeru told his brother slowly.

"Hmmm…" Yamato sighed. "Well, I'll just try again later."

A doctor approached them. "Are you here to see Yagami Taichi?"

"Yes, yes we are!" Sora stood up. "May we see him?"

The doctor nodded. "He won't have much to say, though…"

-------

Jyou was the last to visit with Taichi. _Those eyes… They were wide open, yet it was almost like he couldn't hear me…_ Jyou shook his head at the unfortunate situation. "Hey, Yamato," he said. "Do you want to try Hikari again now?"

Yamato gave 50 cents to Takeru. "Hey, can you call her?" He gestured at the sleeping Sora, leaning against his shoulder. "I don't want to wake her."

"Sure," Takeru replied. He took the money and searched for the pay phone. _Poor Sora…_ He glanced back at her, then silently regretted to be the one to break the horrible news to Hikari. _After all… I don't think he has a chance at all… _

And that's when he ran smack into Hikari.

"H-Hikari!" Takeru stuttered. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to see my brother," Hikari said firmly.

"How did you know?" Takeru asked.

"It was so strange," Hikari spoke. "Somebody called me… This person told me that Taichi was going to die tonight." She shoved past Takeru. "He's going to try to kill him tonight!" She ran towards Taichi's room. Yamato watched her go in shock.

"Hikari…!" he called after her, but she didn't look back.

-------

Hikari went into Taichi's room. She saw that his eyes were wide-open. "Oh, Brother… You're okay." Hikari sighed gratefully. She walked over to him. "What happened? Who did this to you?"

There was no reply. Her eyes traveled towards the monitor. _Why, someone turned it off?_

She looked down at her older brother. _He hasn't even blinked once_. Then she saw the cord… Someone had cut it… The ventilation mask on his face… 

"He's not breathing," Hikari gasped. Then she ran out of the room, calling desperately for a doctor.

-------

"If only I had gotten here sooner," Hikari wailed.

"What did the person who was on the phone with you say?" Ken asked.

"That person said… That Taichi would be killed tonight… So I rushed over here."

Yamato sighed. "If only we had known."

Jyou looked sad. "Hmm… That must be… must be why I felt something was wrong when I visited."

"Yes, you were the last one to visit with him, correct?" Mimi said. "You know, he looked fine when I visited him."

"Yeah," Yamato agreed. "When I visited him, I could still see him slightly breathing."

"Wow, that is creepy," Iori said.

"Good thing Sora is still sleeping," Miyako said, looking at the girl. "I feel so sorry for her…"

"What about me, Miyako…?" Hikari asked softly. "He was my brother…" Then she looked at Sora. She sighed. Then someone touched her shoulder. Hikari turned around quickly.

"Takeru…"

Takeru led her away from the others. "I'm so sorry about Taichi… He… He was a great friend to all of us…"

Hikari hugged him. "I just don't know what to do… What will Mom and Dad say?"

"I don't know," Takeru replied honestly. "Hey, Hikari." Hikari looked at him. "Hikari… Why don't you meet me at the beach tomorrow? There… There are some things I need to tell you."

Intrigued, Hikari could only nod.

-------

It had been difficult for any of them to sleep. Daisuke yawned and looked at his fellow Digi-Destined. Only Takeru, Yamato, and Sora were not there.

"Now that Taichi's gone," Daisuke spoke loudly. "I've got to become a better soccer player for the team!"

The others stared at him in shock.

"How could you say such an insensitive thing?!" Miyako shouted. She looked at Hikari, but her face was surprisingly calm-looking.

"He's just trying to cheer me up," Hikari said. 

Daisuke looked at the pretty brown-haired girl. _I can't believe this happened to her…_

"Do you want to go to the movies with me later?" Mimi asked. "Girls night out… My treat. I'll invite Sora." She looked at Miyako. "Miyako can come too!"

Hikari shook her head. "Not today, Mimi. I'm meeting Takeru at the beach later."

"Ooh," Mimi squealed. "Well then, you kids have fun!"

-------

Later that day…

-------

Takeru ran as fast as he could to the beach. He checked his watch. "I'm late… I'm going to be in so much trouble!" He picked up the pace. "I hope Hikari is still there!"

That's when he noticed the figure in black watching him.

"You'd better hurry," came the muffled voice.

Takeru stopped a moment and looked back. But the figure was gone.

"Maybe I just imagined it," Takeru said to himself. Then he began running again.

-------

Hikari sat alone and watched the setting sun. _Where is Takeru? It's getting dark…_ _No, something must have happened to him! He wouldn't make me wait… He knows I hate the darkness…_

She felt the tears come to her eyes for the fourth time that day. Something about how her father sadly announced that Taichi's funeral would be in a couple of days… It hit her at that moment that Taichi was truly gone. He was not going to be coming back.

As she sat waiting, all she could remember were their experiences with digimon. All those times together in the Digital World… When she was just a baby and the two of them met Koromon.

"So many memories…" She sighed and laid back. Then she saw the figure in black watching her. Hikari screamed.

"Yes," the figure agreed with her. "So many memories. Why don't you go join your brother?"

"No, wait," Hikari pleaded. 

-------

Takeru was out of breath when he reached the beach. The figure in black was there, waiting for him.

"It's you again," Takeru cried.

"I told you to hurry," the voice told him coldly. Takeru could feel the blood draining out of his face as he saw the fallen girl lying on the beach. He ran to her.

__

She's been stabbed…

"I thought that I'd throat-slash her, but that's too much for such an innocent little angel, don't you think?" 

Takeru turned around furiously. "Why?!"

"To put her out of her misery," the voice said simply.

"Who are you?!" Takeru demanded. "You were the one who killed Taichi, weren't you?!"

"You're smart," the figure laughed. "Now… Since you're so smart, can you figure out who's next?"

-------

A/N- Ugh, this chapter was just so crappily written… Oh well… Sorry, Hikari fans… I wonder whose name I'll draw next from my "unlucky hat of doom." Well, it was good to put her out of her misery, don't you think? L 

Well, see you next time, next chapter! 


End file.
